COACH HILL'S DRESS shoes echoed across the tunnel floor as he stormed into the locker room. The carpet dampened the sound, but Thea could see the anger blazing in his eyes.
"That was fucking embarrassing," he tossed the match sheet and papers spilled across the dressing room floor, "I expect better from all of you, especially against Seattle. A 6-2 loss is simply unacceptable!"
Thea avoided her coaches gaze and leaned back in her foldable chair. The metal pressed into her neck uncomfortably. Her bones felt weary, and a dull throb was beginning to form at the edge of her temples.
Hill pointed towards the doors, "If we continue playing like that, we might as well forfeit the match before it begins."
Thea knew her coach wasn't wrong. There was something about the team, and the way they played. Errant passes, fumbling with the soccer ball, ignoring each other on the pitch, it was a mess. They were in danger of reaching their sixth loss in a row and Thea knew she didn't want that.
She glanced around the room at her teammates and saw the weariness and despair reflected in their eyes as well. There was no answer on how they could improve. Every tactic they tried seemed ineffective, and the frustration kept building—with everyone.
Hill continued his rant, speaking about the lack of respect they had for the crest on their jerseys with the pathetic effort they had displayed. She could see some of the girls in the room had tuned out their coach, and while Thea didn't say it outwardly, deep down, she knew that was also a huge problem.
"Hit the showers, I want you all here at eight tomorrow," Hill concluded, his gaze drifting to each of the girls.
Thea wasn't sure, but it felt like his disapproving eyes lingered on her a second longer than the other girls. She knew that she hadn't had the best game, but she also wasn't placing the loss entirely on her shoulders. She'd been substituted before half time and her replacement Jess, hadn't played much better.
Thea leaned down to untie her cleats, pushing away the intrusive thoughts. If her coach wanted to say something, he would. But until then, she would not dwell on the possibility of her play, even when it was slightly eating her up alive.
She was vaguely aware of Hill and the other coaches leaving the room and she almost sighed in relief. It felt like her execution had been delayed another day.
The room was silent as the rests of the girls undressed themselves.
The silence unnerved her.
Once upon a time, there used to be music and laughter, and now all she heard was the quiet sound of laces being untied and cleats being thrown into bags.
"Something needs to change," Lauren, their team captain spoke up.
Thea continued to toss her jersey and shin guards in her duffle bag.
"We've been fucking saying that for weeks now," another player piped in angrily. "Saying something has to change won't make a difference but maybe if you magically regain your ability to score, we won't be losing so magnificently anymore."
Thea blinked back the shock on her face. To hear someone address their captain in such a direct and hostile manner was something she certainly hadn't expected.
"That was uncalled for Jess!" another player shouted.
Thea shook her head; this was the last thing this team needed. She wasn't foolish enough to ignore the chasm forming between players. They were all frustrated with the results on the pitch but having her teammates turn on each other wouldn't help them.
Thea rubbed her temples and closed her eyes, hoping that things would be different when she opened them again. The game she loved, and the dreams she wanted to achieve seemed to be flying further and further away from her.
When her lashes fluttered open, she watched as Lauren marched up to Jess' stall. Well—stall was a generous term. The Panthers owner had promised to build them a first-class facility and three years in, they were still sitting on chairs with their jerseys draped behind them.
Jess stood up as Lauren approached, her gaze unflinching as she met the captain's. Thea felt her muscles clenching and she held her breath watching the stare down.
Lauren nodded her head at the midfielder, "You're right, I've been in a scoring slump and as captain of the team, I need to be better."
Jess remained still, but Thea could see her dark eyes were waiting for Lauren's next move. Jess might be the new girl on the team, but Thea knew she wasn't dumb.
"But this is also my team. I've been here for far longer than you've been in the league. Nobody cares more about this team than I do. If you disrespect me again, I'll have you kicked off the team faster than you can open your mouth."
Thea didn't think Lauren was lying. As an American National team member and silver medalist at the last summer Olympics, Lauren was the fan favourite and her word held weight with management.
Jess crossed her arms across her chest, not backing down. Thea had to give the girl credit when it was due. Even though she was new to the team this year, Jess seemed to be unafraid of anyone, or anything, including Lauren.
Lauren shifted her eyes to the other girls in the room, "Make sure you aren't late tomorrow. We don't need to give Hill another reason to be pissed."
Thea and the other girls nodded. They all knew what awaited them tomorrow at practice—it would not be pleasant.
Thea finished stuffing all her soccer clothes into her duffle bag and stood. Her balance wavered and her ankle throbbed in pain. She hid the wince but swore that Lauren's eyes zoned onto her ankle.
"You should get that checked out by physio."
"It's nothing," Thea lied, straightening her leg. She placed her full weight on the ankle, even as it felt like a thousand needles were pricking her. "I'll just ice it when I get home."
Lauren opened her mouth as if to argue, but Thea gave her a small smile before she hurriedly exited the locker room, heading towards the parking garage. She nodded at the security guys before slipping into her Honda. Her duffle bag was thrown haphazardly on the passenger seat, and she turned on the car, wincing when her ankle pressed against the brake pedal.
She would need to monitor it further, but for right now, all she wanted to do was get home, eat, and then shower—in that exact order.
⚽⚽⚽
Thea shifted through the items in her fridge, looking for the last box of the chicken pesto and green beans she'd stored earlier in the week. She swore she had another container left before she would need to cook again.
She smiled finding the container behind the tubs of yogurt. Dumping the food on a plate, she heated it up in the microwave before grabbing an ice pack from her freezer. She grabbed her plate of food and the ice pack, and slowly made her way to the sofa.
Thea placed a white throw pillow—a gift from her brother's fiancée underneath her now swollen ankle. She smiled thinking about the outraged face Lina would be making if she saw how her gift was being used. Thea placed the icepack on her ankle before digging into her dinner. She flipped through the channels aimlessly before settling on a random National Geographic documentary. She ate while listening to the man lull about the Serengeti.
Dusk settled in and a yawn escaped her lips. It was getting late, but she still had a lot of work to do. Her bones felt tired and sore, and her brain was hardly functioning.
The last thing she wanted to do was open her laptop and look through the many emails that no doubt awaited her. She placed her plate on the black coffee table pushing aside the now warm icepack that rested there.
Maybe she would take a short nap and then return to her clients. There was no way she could sleep in her bed. Thea knew she wouldn't be able to wake up if she did.
Shutting the TV, she grabbed the throw blanket and wrapped it around her body. Her ankle continued to throb, but she pushed it aside. The curtains were drawn open and she could see the light from the other condos. She scowled; she wouldn't be able to sleep with all the light. Pushing her body to a sitting position, she relented that there would be no work done tonight.
Hobbling on the ankle, she threw her plate in the dishwasher before making her way to her room. Her duffle bag remained in the corner, and she was reminded that she would need the clothes for the morning, but that was a tomorrow problem. Snuggling underneath the cold covers, she drifted off to sleep.
⚽⚽⚽
Thea was awoken by loud banging. Her eyes flew open, and it took her a moment to realize that it was a door knock. She glanced at her phone to see that it was just after midnight. Who was banging at her door at such a time? It must have been a drunk guy, mistaking her apartment for his. She didn't have the strength to deal with a drunken idiot right now.
She pulled the covers over her head, hoping that whoever was at her door would realize that they were in the wrong place and leave. The banging persisted, and she growled, pulling the blanket off her body. She stood, making her way to the front door of her apartment.
Thea blinked once she peeped through the eyehole. The sleep from her eyes was long gone now.
She pulled the door, "Rashad, what the are you doing here?"
Her brother grinned, his hazel eyes softening as they met hers. "Surprise Thea! Aren't you glad that I've come to see you?"
Thea scrunched her brows in confusion. "I just wasn't expecting you at this time, or at all..."
A sudden thought occurred to her, "Is everything okay with Lina? Is the baby fine?"
Her brother's smiled widened, and he gave her a nervous smile that did not reassure her one bit. "No, everything is great with them both, we just thought it would be an excellent time to surprise you, since it has been so long..."
"We?"
Rashad moved to the side and that was the first time Thea saw the achingly familiar face, standing with his crutches. His hair was hidden beneath the baseball cap, but he lifted his grey eyes and they pierced into her. Instincts propelled her and before she knew what she was doing, Thea stepped back and slammed the door in their faces.
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And so we begin! Things don't seem to be going so well with Thea and who did Thea closed the door on? Please vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter and drop below to write who you are cheering for in the World Cup. There is definitely been some surprises in the first week!